Wear what you love. Love what you wear. Love your body.

I knew it would be. I had several people warn me. I even mapped out my days for optimal productivity. It’s what I do and I’m good at it. But man it’s hard. And if it weren’t hard enough to manage one business, I’m managing TWO.

Don’t worry – this will not be a post where I bemoan about the choices I’ve made. Despite the difficulty, I really love being self-employed. I’m working for my own dream and not someone else’s. That’s an incredible feeling. I also have control over major aspects of both of my businesses, and I love that too. I’m 100% passionate about my ventures – sewing & helping others. But sometimes I miss the niceties of working for others. Like having a secretary.

Everyone reads about young entrepreneurs and how much fun they’re having being their own boss. And that’s true – I love the freedom and flexibility. Rarely do you hear, however, just how hard it is doing everything yourself. From copies to scheduling to documentation to accounting to photos to blog posts to Instagram 3x per day to setting up a video set, it’s. all. on. me.

And it’s all beautiful and awesome and stressful and hard. Really, really stinkin’ hard.

It’s hard meeting with clients in rural counties and hoping I have the ability to find them a job so they can enter the workforce despite their disability. When I did this job as a State employee, I was paid regardless. Now my pay is dependent on others, and that’s scary.

It’s hard to create engaging sewing courses that hopefully people with take, and then trust that you can adequately teach the material in a way that a novice can understand. And don’t even get me started on marketing and self-promotion – I annoy myself some days.

Don’t let social media fool you. Those of us crazy enough to pursue our dreams are working our assess off. And some of us are lucky enough to have a ton of support. Like a mom who cleans my house every few weeks. Or a boyfriend who reminds me of my awesomeness when I’m freaking out. And a stepdad who provides financial support when I need it.

I’ll keep on keepin’ on. I’m learning that I can’t work 10 hours without a break. Or pack my schedule so tightly that I have no time to sew for myself. I need consistent sleep, bubble baths, dark chocolate and date nights. I’m slowly but surely figuring out how to make everything work. And I truly love it.

I am so excited about my sewing course offerings for March 2016! I’ve listened to feedback from past and current students, and have settled on a few things that I think will be enjoyable and helpful when it comes to building your toolkit for garment sewing. I’m also looking to add courses for those of you who are already familiar with your machines and have made a few items. Enter the Garment Sewing Skillbuilder Series.

Garment Sewing Skillbuilder Series

I am probably most excited about this series of skill-based classes offered each Wednesday and Thursday evening in March from 6:00 – 7:30. Each 90-minute workshop is $45 and will focus entirely on one skill related to garment sewing. Each workshop is meant to stand alone and enhance or refresh your skills on each topic. Each workshop is limited to 5 students.

Wednesday, March 2: Using Garment Patterns

Learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about using a commercial garment pattern. I’ll explain sizing & fabric charts, cutting, grainlines, and answer all of your questions about using patterns. I’ll even demonstrate some common fitting issues like full bust adjustments and length adjustments.

Thursday, March 3: Garment Fabric 101

One of the most exciting things about sewing your own clothing is choosing your fabric for each project. This workshop will be all about touching various fabrics and learning how to pair them with patterns. We’ll discuss which fabrics work best for each type of garment, and review how to shop for fabric online and in stores.

Wednesday, March 9: Notions & Tools for Garment Sewing

Creating beautiful garments is all about using the right tools. In this workshop I’ll show you some of my favorite tools for garment sewing. You’ll also get the chance to order any that you love.

Thursday, March 10: Darts

Darts are one of the most common elements in garments, and this workshop will review marking methods as well as techniques for sewing the perfect bust, waist and fisheye darts.

Wednesday, March 16: Zippers

Zippers seem like the pariah of garment sewing, but with a few tricks and tips, you’ll be stitching beautiful centered, lapped and invisible zippers in no time. I’ll share my favorite notions for making zipper insertion a breeze, and review the three types of zippers with a bonus hand-sewn zipper.

Thursday, March 17: Sleeves

Setting a sleeve can be intimidating, but with practice and patience you can insert beautifully smooth sleeves into any garment. I’ll show you how to distribute ease, pin and sew your sleeves perfectly.

Wednesday, March 23: Seam Finishes

Seam finishes are crucial to the posterity of any handmade garment. In this workshop I’ll review the major seam finishes including French seams, pinked & stitched, serged (shown above), and bound.

Thursday, March 24: Hems

The hem is one of the last finishing touches on any garment, and I’ll show you how to create beautiful hems by hand and by machine. You’ll learn to make a baby hem, blind hem (machine & hand) and a stitched hem.

Last weekend my beau and I went to Atlanta for a brief visit. I somehow convinced him to accompany me to a fabric store, Gail K. Fabrics to be exact. It’s been a few years since I’ve set foot in a brick and mortar fabric store so this was both an overwhelming and exciting experience. Sections were barely labeled, bolts were stacked floor to ceiling, and the store was full of seamstresses on a mission. I managed to find four gorgeous pieces of wool in about an hour, but I definitely need to get back soon as I’m pretty sure I only looked at half the store.

I immediately set out to make some wide leg trousers with the orchid gabardine (top) and was pleased that my pattern adjustments on Vogue 1325 worked as planned. The pattern calls for a fly front and slant pockets, but I turned the fly into a center front seam, removed the pockets, and added a side zip. A quick muslin from waist to mid-thigh was enough to know my adjustments would translate well into my wool.

I’m really pleased with the finished product and plan to wear these pants this week for my birthday. I added a serged plus hand-sewn hem to finish them off, and cut the facings on the fold to accommodate the side zip.

This week honestly felt like a recovery week from travel and work. I’ve also been busy marketing my sewing business and teaching new students, so my personal projects have taken a back seat to all of that until this past week. I finally sat down and did some planning for my spring/summer wardrobe and started with vintage Simplicity 4986 in cotton chambray.

I’m really lucky this baby fit right out of the envelope, because I muslined the bodice over 2 years ago. This, though, is my new favorite dress and I plan on making several more before weather gets warm. I also made some changes to the front ties – I’m going to cut them on the fold on the next iteration and stitch then turn them so the stitching doesn’t show.

Last but not least, I held an Intro to Home Dec class on Saturday and had so much fun with my student. We started by measuring and making a pattern for her pillow covers on Swedish tracing paper.

I then taught her how to add a grainline, rip her fabric to find the grainline, place her pattern and prep her fabric to be sewn.

The best part of this class, and something I plan to incorporate in future courses, is that I sewed alongside her. We did every step of the process together and I was able to explain as I was working, as well as demonstrate some key tasks. This was especially handy when I taught her how to install her first zipper.

She walked away with two handmade pillow covers, patterns for both and a ton of skills to translate to other projects. Interestingly I kept making references to garment sewing – I never realized the two were so connected.

This coming week will be all about planning for March’s sewing courses. I had a list of things for February but now that I’ve had more time to think about them, I think I might adjust the classes to add more spring dresses into the mix!